Abstract
In many forested wetlands of Louisiana, surface water quality is being deteriorated by nutrient input from adjacent agricultural production areas. This field study assesses the input of fertilizer N, applied to sugarcane fields, to forested wetlands. The potential use of natural abundance variations in 15N14N ratios for identification and tracing surface water N sources (NH +4 - and NO3 --N) was evaluated. Runoff and surface water samples were collected from sugarcane fields and bordering forested wetlands (6 stations) over a 16 month period and analyzed for NH +4 -N, NO -3 -N, and associated NH +4 -δ15N and NO -3 -δ15N ratios. Fertilizer N draining into adjacent forested wetland was estimated to be only a small fraction of the amount applied. Concentrations of NH +4 - and NO -3 -N in the collected water samples were low and ranged from 0.02 to 1.79 mg L-1. Isotopic analysis revealed NH +4 -δ15N and NO -3 -δ15N means were distinctive and may have the potential to be used as tracers of N contamination. The mean NH +4 -δ15N value was +18.6 ± 7.1‰ and the NO -3 -δ15N mean was +8.3 ± 3.1‰. Anomalously high NO -3 -δ15N values (>30‰) were attributed to denitrification.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aravena, R., Evans, M. L. and Cherry, J. A.: 1993, Ground Water 31, 180.
Bohlke, J. K. and Denver, J. M.: 1995, Water Resour. Res. 31, 2319.
Bottcher, J., Strebel, O., Voerkulius, S. and Schmidt, H. L.: 1990, J. Hydrol. 114, 413.
Bremner, J. M. and Keeney, D. R.: 1965, Anal. Chim. Acta 32, 495.
Edwards, A. P.: 1975, ‘Isotopic Effects in Relation to the Interpretation of 15N/14N Ratios in Tracer Studies,’ in IAEA, Isotope Ratios as Pollutant Source and Behavior Indicators, Vienna, p. 455.
Hauck, R. D., Bartholomew, W. V., Bremner, J. M. Broadbent, F. E., Cheng, H. H., Edwards, A. P., Keeney, D. R., Legg, J. O., Olsen, S. R. and Porter, L. K.: 1972, Science 177, 453.
Heaton, T. H. E.: 1986, Chem. Geol. 59, 87.
Herbel, M. J. and Spalding, R. F.: 1993, Ground Water 31, 376.
Jenkins, M. C. and Kemp, W. M.: 1984, Limnol. Oceanogr. 19, 609.
Komor, S. C. and Anderson, H. W.: 1993, Ground Water 31, 260.
Kreitler, C. W.: 1974, Determining the Source of Nitrate in Groundwater by Nitrogen Isotope Studies.
Ph. D. thesis, University of Texas, Austin, TX.
Kreitler, C. W.: 1979, J. Hydrol. 42, 147.
Kreitler, C. W. and Browning, L. A.: 1983, J. Hydrol. 61, 285.
Lindau, C. W., DeLaune, R. D., Patrick, W. H. and Lambremont, E. N.: 1989, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 48, 489.
Mariotti, A., Landreau, A. and Simon, B.: 1988, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 52, 1869.
Mulvaney, R. L.: 1993, ‘Mass Spectrometry,’ in R. Knowles and T. H. Blackburn (eds.), Nitrogen Isotope Techniques, Academic Press, New York, p. 311.
Reddy, K. R. and Patrick, W. H.: 1984, Crit. Rev. Environ. Control 13, 274.
Showers, W. J., Eisenstein, D. M., Paerl, H. and Rudek, J.: 1990, Water Resources Res. Inst., Univ. of North Carolina, Report No. UNC-WRRI-253, p. 28.
Smith, R. L., Howes, B. L. and Duff, J. H.: 1991, Geochim. Cosmochin Acta 55, 1815.
Spalding, R. F., Exner, M. E., Lindau, C. W. and Eaton, D. W.: 1982, J. Hydrol. 58, 307.
Spalding, R. F., Exner, M. E., Martin, G. E. and Snow, D. D.: 1993, J. Hydrol. 142, 213.
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency: 1983, Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes, revised March 1983. EPA 600/4-79-020, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH.
Wilson, G. B., Andrews, J. N. and Bath, A. H.: 1994, J. Hydrol. 157, 35.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lindau, C.W., Delaune, R.D. & Alford, D.P. MONITORING NITROGEN POLLUTION FROM SUGARCANE RUNOFF USING 15N ANALYSIS. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 98, 389–399 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026483228623
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026483228623